We are gathered in the
heart of our nationís capital, surrounded by memorials to leaders and
citizens who served our nation in its earliest days and in its days of
greatest trial. Today is such a time for America.

Over the past two years,
we have faced the worst recession since the Great Depression. Eight
million people lost their jobs. Tens of millions saw the value of their
homes and retirement savings plummet. Countless businesses have been
unable to get the loans they need and many have been forced to shut
their doors. And although the economy is growing again, too many people
are still feeling the pain of the downturn.

Now, while a number of
factors led to such a severe recession, the primary cause was a
breakdown in our financial system. It was a crisis born of a failure of
responsibility from certain corners of Wall Street to the halls of power
in Washington. For years, our financial sector was governed by
antiquated and poorly enforced rules that allowed some to game the
system and take risks that endangered the entire economy.

Unscrupulous lenders
locked consumers into complex loans with hidden costs. Firms like AIG
placed massive, risky bets with borrowed money. And while the rules
left abuse and excess unchecked, they also left taxpayers on the hook if
a big bank or financial institution ever failed.

Now, even before the
crisis hit, I went to Wall Street and I called for common-sense reforms
to protect consumers and our economy as a whole. And soon after taking
office, I proposed a set of reforms to empower consumers and investors,
to bring the shadowy deals that caused this crisis into the light of
day, and to put a stop to taxpayer bailouts once and for all.
Today, thanks to a lot of people in this room, those reforms
will become the law of the land.

For the last year,
Chairmen Barney Frank and Chris Dodd have worked day and night. Barney and Chris have worked day and night to bring about
this reform. And I am profoundly grateful to them. I would be remiss
if I didn't also express my appreciation to Senator Harry Reid and
Speaker Nancy Pelosi for their leadership. It wouldnít have happened
without them.

Passing this bill was no
easy task. To get there, we had to overcome the furious lobbying of an
array of powerful interest groups and a partisan minority determined to
block change. So the members who are here today, both on the stage and
in the audience, they have done a great service in devoting so much time
and expertise to this effort, to looking out for the public interests
and not the special interests. And I also want to thank
the three Republican senators who put partisanship aside, judged this bill on the merits, and voted for reform. Weíre
grateful to them. And the Republican House members.
Good to see you, Joe.

Now, letís put this in
perspective. The fact is, the financial industry is central to our
nationís ability to grow, to prosper, to compete and to innovate. There
are a lot of banks that understand and fulfill this vital role, and
there are a whole lot of bankers who want to do right -- and do right --
by their customers. This reform will help foster innovation, not hamper
it. It is designed to make sure that everybody follows the same set of
rules, so that firms compete on price and quality, not on tricks and not
on traps.

It demands accountability
and responsibility from everyone. It provides certainty to everybody,
from bankers to farmers to business owners to consumers. And unless
your business model depends on cutting corners or bilking your
customers, youíve got nothing to fear from reform.

Now, for all those
Americans who are wondering what Wall Street reform means for you,
hereís what you can expect. If youíve ever applied for a credit card, a
student loan, or a mortgage, you know the feeling of signing your name
to pages of barely understandable fine print. What often happens as a
result is that many Americans are caught by hidden fees and penalties,
or saddled with loans they canít afford.

Thatís what happened to
Robin Fox, hit with a massive rate increase on her credit card balance
even though she paid her bills on time. Thatís what happened to Andrew
Giordano, who discovered hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees on his
bank statement -- fees he had no idea he might face. Both are here
today. Well, with this law, unfair rate hikes, like the one that hit
Robin, will end for good. And weíll ensure that people
like Andrew arenít unwittingly caught by overdraft fees when they sign
up for a checking account.

With this law, weíll crack
down on abusive practices in the mortgage industry. Weíll make sure
that contracts are simpler -- putting an end to many hidden penalties
and fees in complex mortgages -- so folks know what theyíre signing.

With this law, students
who take out college loans will be provided clear and concise
information about their obligations.

And with this law,
ordinary investors -- like seniors and folks saving for retirement --
will be able to receive more information about the costs and risks of
mutual funds and other investment products, so that they can make better
financial decisions as to what will work for them.

So, all told, these
reforms represent the strongest consumer financial protections in
history. In history. And these protections will be
enforced by a new consumer watchdog with just one job: looking out for
people -- not big banks, not lenders, not investment houses -- looking
out for people as they interact with the financial system.

And thatís not just good
for consumers; thatís good for the economy. Because reform will put a
stop to a lot of the bad loans that fueled a debt-based bubble. And it
will mean all companies will have to seek customers by offering better
products, instead of more deceptive ones.

Now, beyond the consumer
protections Iíve outlined, reform will also rein in the abuse and excess
that nearly brought down our financial system. It will finally bring
transparency to the kinds of complex and risky transactions that helped
trigger the financial crisis. Shareholders will also have a greater say
on the pay of CEOs and other executives, so they can reward success
instead of failure.

And finally, because of
this law, the American people will never again be asked to foot the bill
for Wall Streetís mistakes. There will be no more
tax-funded bailouts -- period. If a large financial
institution should ever fail, this reform gives us the ability to wind
it down without endangering the broader economy. And there will be new
rules to make clear that no firm is somehow protected because it is ďtoo
big to fail,Ē so we donít have another AIG.

That's what this reform
will mean. Now, it doesnít mean our work is over. For these new rules
to be effective, regulators will have to be vigilant. We may need to
make adjustments along the way as our financial system adapts to these
new changes and changes around the globe. No law can force anybody to
be responsible; itís still incumbent on those on Wall Street to heed the
lessons of this crisis in terms of how they conduct their businesses.

The fact is every American
-- from Main Street to Wall Street -- has a stake in our financial
system. Wall Street banks and firms invest the capital that makes it
possible for start-ups to sell new products. They provide loans to
businesses to expand and to hire. They back mortgages for families
purchasing a new home. Thatís why weíll all stand to gain from these
reforms. We all win when investors around the world have confidence in
our markets. We all win when shareholders have more power and more
information. We all win when consumers are protected against abuse.
And we all win when folks are rewarded based on how well they perform,
not how well they evade accountability.

In the end, our financial
system only works -- our market is only free -- when there are clear
rules and basic safeguards that prevent abuse, that check excess, that
ensure that it is more profitable to play by the rules than to game the
system. And thatís what these reforms are designed to achieve -- no
more, no less. Because thatís how we will ensure that our economy works
for consumers, that it works for investors, that it works for financial
institutions -- that it works for all of us.

This is the central lesson
not only of this crisis but of our history. Ultimately, thereís no
dividing line between Main Street and Wall Street. We rise or fall
together as one nation. So these reforms will help lift our economy and
lead all of us to a stronger, more prosperous future.

And thatís why Iím so
honored to sign these reforms into law, and Iím so grateful to everybody
who worked so hard to make this day possible.